The Olympic Paradox
by JunoInferno
Summary: It's the day of the Opening Ceremony and Donna wants to take her children to see the torch relay. The Doctor doesn't want to for some reason. Just a lark.


Author's Notes: I do not own Doctor Who. Welcome to my Olympic lark in the Twenty Twelve series, occurring after the last story. Anyway, spoilers for Fear Her sort of and the Olympic Opening Ceremonies if that counts as spoilers. Anyway, let me know what you think and happy reading!

* * *

There was nothing that Donna found quite as exhausting as chasing down two Time Babies while a third went to work kicking at her stomach. Even in the relative comfort of the house in London and not running for her life in some future city from giant totalitarian moths.

"Zara! Chloe! Enough!," Donna shouted.

Zara had pushed aside most of the furniture in the sitting room to make a performance space for what she was calling her new gymnastics routine. Donna had freaked out a bit at first at the thought of concussions and broken limbs, but she had proven to be quite coordinated "thanks to her superior Time Lord reflexes" the Doctor was quite fond of pointing out. Still, Donna's own maternal instincts didn't care about how good Zara's reflexes were. In addition, Chloe had to try everything her elder sister did. So there were two Time Babies doing a floor routine in the sitting room. The TARDIS sat in the corner since there was no need for her to stay in the cellar this trip home and Donna felt like it kept the Old Girl where the action was so she wouldn't be so lonely. At the very least, the Old Girl was there to hum sternly when she felt her Time Babies had gotten out of hand, joining in with Esther's barks.

"When did you change into a leotard and tutu?," asked Donna. Zara was doing new things all the time now. The latest were changing into what she wanted and some advanced Algebra.

"I needed a gymnastics kit," said Zara.

"Right," said Donna. "Well, we had better change you into some street clothes if you want to see the torch."

"The torch!," Zara squealed.

"Torch!," Chloe echoed.

Donna smiled. "Well, come on, we need to get a move on if we want a good view."

The Doctor came out of the TARDIS, with a giant cord wrapped around his neck and torso. "Sorry, did you say the torch?"

Donna shook her head. "Okay, when you listen from in there, it's weird."

"I was just doing some maintenance on the temporal infuser. There's a knot in it. The torch?"

"Yes, the torch. We're meeting Gramps and Martha to see it."

"Right..." said the Doctor drawing out his answer as he usually did when he had a problem. "I don't think it's a good idea for us to go."

"What?," asked Donna.

"The torch thing. I don't want to go to the torch relay, uh, thing. We could go to the first Olympics in Athens or you know, any Olympics you would like to see, past or future."

Donna sighed. "I choose present."

"Well, present's not really good for me," said the Doctor.

Donna walked up to the Doctor. "The girls are all excited to see the Olympic torch."

The Doctor looked down at the girls and Esther. He knew they were on the edge of heartbreak if he said no.

"What torch would you like to see, girls?," asked the Doctor. "I can take you anywhere, anywhen."

"They want to see the Olympic torch in London, 2012, Statford, is that specific enough for you?," asked Donna.

"Donna, we just can't, okay?"

"What do you mean we can't?"

"Daddy, please," said Zara.

"Please," echoed Chloe.

"What happens?," asked Donna. "Do aliens invade?"

"No."

"Okay. Is the universe going to blow up?"

"Probably not if I don't go."

"Oh, so this is about you?," asked Donna. "Let me guess. You can't go because you might bump into some past self of yours?"

"It might be a bit awkward."

"Well, if this is just about you, fine. You can stay home."

"What?," asked the Doctor.

"When you don't want to go, that just leaves staying home," said Donna. "Fine. Martha, Gramps and I will take the girls and have a lovely time."

"Donna..." the Doctor whined.

"Uh, uh, no, we're going. You, Esther and the TARDIS can stay here and watch it on telly."

* * *

A few hours later the girls were outfitted in Olympic tops and holding Union Jacks as Martha, Wilf and Donna headed towards the last leg of the torch relay.

"Mrs. Noble didn't want to come?," asked Martha.

Wilf scoffed. "She hates crowds."

"She swears she's staying indoors until the end of the Games," said Donna.

Martha smiled. "My mum did the same."

"Where is it, Mummy?," asked Zara.

"We have to wait a bit, sweetheart," said Donna.

Zara groaned. "I hate waiting!"

Martha laughed, then covered her mouth. Donna smiled. She was getting to be more Time Lord- Time Lady?- everyday.

"We'll need a good vantage point," said Wilf.

They joined the crowd queuing up around the path the torch would take before its final approach to Olympic Stadium. Donna found herself scanning the crowd for her husband's previous incarnations.

"Did he give any more details?," asked Martha.

"No, just said it was a paradox," Donna answered. "It could be any of them. The old one. Bloke with the giant scarf. Might even be the celery wearer."

"Celery?," asked Martha.

"Yeah, he used to wear celery," said Donna. "Don't bring it up to him or he'll turn up with a stalk on his lapel. I had to give the last one to Esther."

Martha nodded. "I'm starting to think I dodged a bullet there."

"Yeah, you did," said Donna.

They edged their way to the front so the girls could see out of their double pushchair. Then there was nothing to do but stand and wait.

"So, how did things turn out with Verity Newman?," asked Martha.

"Oh. Good. She was really nice. I might have given her some ideas for the sequel."

"The sequel?," asked Martha.

"Yeah," said Donna. "Fat. Pompeii. Ood. It's going to be brilliant."

Martha smiled as her mobile rang. She answered it. "Hello, Jack."

Donna leaned down to check on the girls.

"What?," shouted Martha.

Donna and Wilf looked up in concern.

"Everyone in the stadium has disappeared," said Martha.

"Disappeared?," asked Donna. "How?"

"It's that bloody Danny Boyle," said Wilf. "Probably got some crazy notion from that Scottish drug documentary."

Donna shook her head. "Gramps, Trainspotting wasn't a documentary."

"It wasn't?," Wilf asked furrowing his brow.

"Didn't you get the hint from the baby on the ceiling?"

"I might have nodded off during that bit," said Wilf.

"Hold on," said Martha. She looked at Donna. "What did the Doctor say? Does he already know about this?"

"I don't know. He just said there was some sort of paradox."

"So, whatever it was, do you suppose he's already sorted it?," asked Wilf.

"Maybe," said Donna. "I wish he would be a little more specific."

"I've got to go investigate," said Martha.

"Right," said Donna. Her mobile beeped.

"Is that the Doctor?," asked Martha.

"Tell Martha they're all coming back," Donna read.

"Right," said Martha. "So, what? Is that the paradox? He's at Olympic Stadium sorting it out? We're not even there. That's not a paradox."

They started to hear the cheering of the crowd further down the torch relay path.

"Might as well see it," said Wilf.

They watched and joined in the cheering as the torch bearer approached. Donna helped Zara out of the pushchair so she could be closer and Martha held Chloe.

The runner came down the road as the crowd cheered wildly. Then suddenly the torch bearer stumbled. The crowd gasped in horror. It looked as if he was going to fall and finally he collapsed on the ground.

"Oh, God," said Martha, trying to shift Chloe to Wilf so she could get over the barricade to help the runner. Just as Wilf took the girl, Zara shouted.

"Daddy!," Zara shouted.

"You are kidding me," said Donna.

"Daddy!," Chloe called.

In front of them, the Doctor had picked up the Olympic Torch and was running with it. The crowd had gone wild as the Doctor ran away with it. Zara was jumping up and down screaming. Wilf, Chloe and Martha had gone crazy.

Donna for her part leaned over the barricade and shouted. "You are joking, Martian!"

She got a few looks from the other spectators when she did that.

"Uh, pet name," said Donna.

"Yeah, I get that from time to time."

Donna looked next to her to see that the Doctor had arrived. The woman next to her was completely confused.

"What just happened?," asked Donna.

"Daddy!," cried Zara, holding out her arms. The Doctor plucked her up.

Donna shook her head. "What just happened?"

"Well, I just avoided a paradox for one thing," said the Doctor.

"That was you?," asked Wilf.

"Yeah, years ago," said the Doctor. He looked at Martha. "Uh, Martha, you might want to help him. He got a slight shock of psychic energy. A cup of tea and a packet of Wine Gums ought to sort him out."

"Right," said Martha, jumping over the barricade and rushing to the runner's aide.

"You didn't say hi to me, Daddy," Zara complained.

"Oh, well that's because you weren't born yet," said the Doctor.

Zara looked at Donna.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart," said Donna.

"Shall we go home and watch the rest on telly?," asked the Doctor.

* * *

They went back to the house and gathered around the telly eager to see the Doctor light the cauldron.

It had turned out quite differently than what the Doctor recalled.

The Doctor stared at the television.

"You didn't light the cauldron," said Donna.

"That's funny. I thought I did."

"You lit the wrong bit," said Donna.

"Oh!," said the Doctor. "I suppose I did. It's just everyone was cheering and I was sort of caught up in the moment. It really looked like a cauldron at the time. What do you suppose it was? Do you think that's why Danny Boyle was screaming at me?"

"That wasn't even where it was meant to go," said Donna.

"What was it you set on fire then?," asked Wilf.

"I don't know. Not the first time I've set something on fire by mistake, probably not the last. Oh, well. When you live as long as I have you're bound to set something on fire by accident eventually. You live, you learn," said the Doctor. "Still, people enjoyed it. Not Kenneth Branaugh, though. Blimey, ego on him."

Donna nodded. "Suppose so."

"I liked that bit with the Queen," said the Doctor.

"Can we watch it again?," asked Zara.

"Oh, no," said Donna, "you two are up much too late as it is. I'm not having a repeat of those three days on Zazu Prime."

"That was my fault. My time sense was off," said the Doctor.

"Daddy?," asked Zara.

"Oh, no, don't try that," said the Doctor. "Mummy's right. It's time for ginger Time Babies to go to bed."

The girls moaned.

"Up you go," said Donna.

"Lots to see in the morning!," said the Doctor. "You'll want to be ready for it!"

"Any more Olympic paradoxes?," asked Donna.

The Doctor shook his head. "None that I know of. Well, none that I know of yet, anyway. I'll let you know when I find out about them."

Donna kissed him. "You are daft."

"Yes, but I managed to get you," said the Doctor.


End file.
